Just Because
by gadwow8
Summary: She would never forget him even though time went on, neverending. Even though he died, she would still love him. Even though he was different, she would somehow save him. Just because she could.
1. Prologue

_Eh, I don't know what I'm doing… I should be writing other stories… Nah, I'm in the procrastinating mood :/ Well, I previously posted this… but then my sister deleted it… stupid… SO, I reposted this =D But, I switched it to a one-shot. Why? 'Cause I did. Hope you enjoy!_

_~Just Because~_

Sometimes, you do all you can and that still is not enough. Sometimes, you do not even try, and you lie. Sometimes, you do all you can, but with the help of other, and at that time, and only that time, you succeed. And rarely, very, very rarely, your power outmatches all those who oppose you, and you can choose what to do with it. Use it for the safety of the world or us it for the creation of malevolent doings.

And even sometimes, you do not even have a choice. Only to follow destinies footsteps, unless, by some ungodly force, you break away, laying out your own path. Oh, but what am I saying? Those bound by destiny from their past lives would _never _be able to break away, as abysmal as that sounds, but no matter what they do, even if it seems like they are leading their own lives they are wrong. They are living in a planned out little game. Then why…? Why is the only question that gets us all, a question that lingers in our heads as soon as we can comprehend at least something.

That is why I live, you can say. I have watched time pass anxiously, waiting for even a single change in destiny. Goddesses, I don't even have a clue how old I am now. But who am I? I am Saria, the Sage of Forest. A Kokiri, too, before I was a Sage. But, you can call me an immortal, I guess, because I really do not age. I am just stuck in this body of a young girl. Yeah, stuck.

I wonder if anything will change in the Golden Kingdom… There are always Zeldas with the original destiny of the first, always Links with the path of the Hero, and of course, that stupid man Ganondorf. But Ganon is always the same person though, so he does not exactly count. Can't the Goddesses do something about him? But, no probably, as long as Din is still in existence, Ganon probably will be too.

Time passes slowly, and almost every second I think of one person. One Link, not the others. The Link that I knew, the one that was my friend and would _always _be, dead or not. I really miss him now, but of course we could not be together forever. He had a role to play and eventually he would die like a normal Hylian. And I… I am a Kokiri and age slowly, daresay I do not age at all. And I am a Sage to the Goddesses… Really and honestly, I miss him. Everything about him. He was like a brother to me. A brother forever.

Now, I have not a clue how old I am. I am just waiting and watching the new incarnates of Link. Oh, how the world has changed…

It really annoys me, though! How I have to stay in the Chamber of Sages with the others and just _watch._ Even though the new Links are not my Link, they still are him, no matter what! I watch them suffer and writhe in pain. I watch them fall to the ground, lifeless, once their time is done. Poisoning, exhaustion, wounds, sickness…

But, of course, not until they defeat Ganondorf for the countless time. Then, it just seems as if the Goddesses do away with them. Just to get rid of them. It is pathetic.

So, now, I have made up my mind no matter what the others say. I _will _help the Links. I _will _help despite the risks I will take. A small price to pay for my own self saved.

He saved me. I'll save him.

_Yay, cute little one-shot! Hmm, I'm in the Saria/Link one-shot mood right now… do you think I should keep this as a one shot or make this an actual story on how Saria will somehow save Link? Or will she? Will she? Oh, I don't know! It is up to you, dear readers! Review with your opinion~_

_And no, that was not a scam to get you to review. Or was it? Was it? The world may never know… Actually it wasn't. It just seemed like that :D_

_Reviews are love~_


	2. Chapter 1

_Yes, loves, I am back~! … I should be working on my other stories… Whatever! Guesses whats? I decided on making this longer! Whee~ So, with that said, enjoy! Ah, and I make some little comparisons in this chapter, and yes, some are debatable (well, in my opinion at least. But that is not saying much) and I really don't like writing in first person so I switched it to third. I really, really don't like first… Well, eh, you could read now y'know._

_~Just Because~_

_I._

Promises are meant to be kept. Promises are like vows, but without the rituals and so forth. Promises… are signs of friendship. Things that keep everything between people. They may not be completed, but, even if they are tried to be completed, that means the world to others. So, a promise was made. A promise to a dear friend that, no matter what, they would always be friends. But, that was so many years ago…

_When cycles did not repeat…_

It was when Link - Saria's Link, not those other soul copies, the other reincarnates - left the forest. When she gave him her fairy ocarina.

"_Oh, you're leaving..._ _I knew... that you would leave the forest... someday, Link... Because you are different from me and my friends... But, that's OK, because we'll be friends forever, won't we? I want you to take this Ocarina… Please take good care of it. When you play my Ocarina, I hope you will think of me and come back to the forest to visit."_

Those were her words to him before he left the Kokiri forest. At the time, she was heartbroken, but, she knew that letting the hero continue on with his destined quest was the right thing to do. She knew she would miss him… But… she loved him like a brother. He was family. To all the Kokiri children, even to Mido that she knew - if Saria said anything of Link and him being family - would say that they were not.

Mido… wow… she missed him too. His bullying, his stalking, his rugged appearance. Saria smiled to herself. But, he was just trying to cover up his soft nature by making himself seem tough, right? But, it wasn't only Mido she missed along with Link, it was everyone, including the fairies.

Saria paused her panging thoughts for a moment.

Fairies… did her Link ever find Navi?

"No, you're wrong, fish-face!" boomed a loud voice from outside the room Saria rested in.

Standing, she crossed the forest-like room, made especially for her, the Sage of Forest, and opened the wooden door. Peering out, she spotted Ruto and Darunia glaring angrily at each other. Saria rolled her eyes. The Sage of Fire and the Sage of Water always seemed to be fighting, even over the silliest of things like clothing and- Well, she had to side with neither of them when they fought over clothes, for neither of them wore them in truth. Saria giggled then, as the thought of Ruto and Darunia in costumes raced quickly through her mind.

"Hey! Green-girl!" Ruto said, turning to Saria standing quietly in the doorway.

Saria frowned. Ruto never did call her by her name…

"If the goron tribe and the zora tribe fought against one another, who would win?" Ruto asked.

"I told you, fish-face, already! Gorons are the people of rock and fire occasionally. That far outclasses water," Darunia spoke as he hammered his fist to his chest proudly.

"Too bad you can't swim! If you fell in water you'd drown!"

"You can't last on hot, dry land for more than an hour! No, a half hour at the most!"

"Why would we want to? It makes our skin all dry and flaky. At least the water keeps it-"

Saria bit her lip. She was in no mood to break up the quarrel between the two. It wasn't as if she never tried. Instead, she tried - and failed - many times and eventually all of the sages had given up on even bothering to change their topic.

She walked through them, ignoring their questioning of who was right, and headed down the torch-lit hall to the dining hall. She watched her shadow along the walls as she walked, wondering if it was _her _shadow for recently, Impa, the Sage of Shadow had begun experimenting with her magic. She learned that she could create shadows of whatever she formed with her magic, giving the impression of an invisible yet solid being. Of course, to test this she thought of a wolf and sent the shadow along the walls of the Chamber of Sages, well, the not the actual chamber, but the hidden rooms of it. And it was Rauru who happened to first see the wolf and goddesses did he have a fit as he wondered how a wolf managed to get into a sacred place. He hurdled magic at the 'invisible wolf' and Impa had to run out to stop him, telling him that it was only some of her own power. Since then, Rauru had forbidden Impa from forging shadows, being the Sage of Light and all, but Saria and probably the other sages knew that she still practiced when no one was conscious of her doings.

Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit, was surprised even when she found out that Impa actually did something that was past the boundaries of her strict, motherly nature. Something humorous.

Saria forgot about her shadow when loud scraping and clashing could be heard from inside a plain door. She cracked it open and peered inside, wondering if her guess was correct. And right is was when she saw Impa and Nabooru in combat in the middle of the room, weapons (swords, chains, and daggers) were drawn and both of the females parried each others attacks, looking for an opening to attack.

Saria told them that she would feel better if they used unarmed combat, but no, they continued to use weapon. She looked back when Nabooru let out an angry grunt. Her blade was tightly wrapped with Impa's chain and she struggled for her hold, not wanting to lose her weapon. Nabooru's eyes were narrowed with sheer focus; her body shook with exertion; her muscles, clearly visible under her tanned skin, were strained.

But, before her Impa looked pleased and the exact opposite of her opponent. She almost looked bored with the bout and with a simple, sudden tug of the chain, Nabooru's blade came flying out of her hands to Impa. The Sheikah caught it easily with her left hand. "Do you surrender now?"

Nabooru almost looked like she pouted (if she ever pouted) and pointed at her. "For now. But, be prepared to fight, any day, any time. A Gerudo never surrenders," she stated.

"Why can you not admit defeat and go on with you life?" Impa asked.

"Because she is too stubborn," Saria answered, attracting the attention of both women. They turned to her in surprise and Saria slid into the room. She looked down nervously and locked her hands behind her back. "I am sorry if I offended you…" she said to Nabooru, putting an embarrassed hand behind her head. But, she had no reason to be embarrassed, did she?

Impa shook her head slowly. "Don't you have anything to do? I thought you didn't like watching combat."

Saria shrugged. "No, I suppose I don't." She paused, looking down at her feet. _Ask her now…,_ said a voice from inside her. Ask her what? No, she shouldn't ask herself 'what'. She knew already what she should ask Impa - Nabooru, too. And it happened to be something she should not ask Rauru, for fear of accusation; Darunia, for him just shaking his head and telling her nothing; or Ruto, for obvious reasons. She looked up, then, at the two older women who watched her closely, knowing that she was to speak and waiting for her words.

_Answer me please…_

"Do you- er, have you ever heard of a way to leave the Chamber of Sages? I mean a way to get into Hyrule once more?"

The Gerudo cocked an eyebrow. "Why would you want to do that? We cannot expose our power to the humans, Hylians, or whatever other beings reside in Hyrule nowadays. Ganondorf knew of this because he was an usurper-king of Hyrule. Zelda - the one we knew - knew of this place because she was rumored as the Sage of Time and because it was her duty to know. Link - our Link - knew because he was the Hero of Time. Now, the current reincarnates of Ganondorf, Zelda, and Link do not even know of this place. Sure, there are probably clues or stories of our existence, but most being probably just think that they really _are _stories. Not true. Fake. Falsities."

Impa rolled her eyes at the red-head. "Saria," she said, cutting of Nabooru's next words. "As Nabooru said, if our existence came into one who resides in Hyrule, much confusion would spread throughout the land. And that is exactly what we are trying to prevent. But if you must know, there is a so-called 'portal' to leave the Chamber-"

Saria's eyes lit up and her mind began flowing with thoughts. But, as she did so, she blocked out Impa's current speech. The old nursemaid must have noticed though because she cleared her throat loudly, catching the Kokiri girl's attention once more.

"Sorry…" Saria muttered.

"As I was saying: if there really is a 'portal', Rauru would be guarding it or have it deeply hidden. He wouldn't want one of us leaving nonchalantly, abandoning our duty for even the slightest amount of time." Impa paused and threw a dagger suddenly at Nabooru who was chuckling as softly as she could. The other sage's attention snapped back angrily to Impa and she waved a hand, walking out of the room and shoving past Saria. "Ignore her," she said to the younger girl who watched Nabooru leave.

"If I am correct, the 'portal' is in Rauru's library."

"What is it though?"

Impa looked thoughtful for a moment. "I believe it is hidden in a hallowed out book of Hyrule's history. Up to date, of course." Her words froze in midair, dangling in the awkward silence that then loomed between them. Her scarlet eyes studied Saria. "You better not do anything. I gave you some information that is not meant to be known."

The icy stare that the Sage of Forest was given told her that Impa was serious.

"I won't. I swear on it," Saria said with her chin raised up.

Impa's expression softened at her words and nodded. "Good." She nodded to her as she walked out the door leaving Saria to herself.

Saria shook her head sadly as she moved her hand in front of her face to reveal her fingers crossed, a childish thing, but enough for her. "I make promises only to Link."

* * *

Saria looked around the musty smelling library. It had been almost a week since Impa had told her about the 'portal' to get to Hyrule and she certainly knew better than to automatically to search for it. She had to have Impa believe her before she did anything.

That thought made Saria's heart sink. She shouldn't feel bad, should she? Oh well, she had to search before Rauru returned and caught her.

She looked up at the towering bookshelves that lined the walls and her heart sank even more. So many books to search though… Almost all of them had to be Hylian history, one or two of the towering shelves could be current Hylian history.

So, she began looking carefully and quietly among the masses of books, sighing when she did not find a hollowed book. _It shouldn't take this long,_ she thought furiously.

Time ticked by.

And by.

And by.

Still she had no luck with her search. Her eyes widened suddenly when Rauru's voice - Impa's too - was heard coming down the hallway outside the room. She closed the book currently in her hands shut and shoved it into the shelf before she darted for cover. But, there was no place to hide in the small, tidy library (more like study). Her eyes snapped to the old, polished desk sitting in the corner of the room. She ran over to it, hiding under it. No. She crouched under it, in the most uncomfortable position.

The door was heard opening and she held her breath. Her green hair fell over her eyes and she shook her head as softly as she could so she could see feet if Rauru came near. Through the strands of her hair she could not move away from her face she saw two leather booted feet come not even a foot away from her. Scraping could be heard from the desk above her. The Sage of Light must have been getting something from his desk.

The feet soon disappeared from her view and the loud footsteps soon disappeared and the door to the library was closed with a small click.

Saria gasped for air and fell forward onto the red carpet that covered the floor. She gripped it in her hands. She began to wonder if what she was doing was really worth it. Her face hardened. _Yes, of course this is worth it. This is for Link! _she reassured herself.

She pulled herself on her knees so that her face was no higher than the desk. Standing up, she noticed a small, leather bound book, its cover worn away and softened from years and years of use. She reached for it, feeling the cover, and opened it to the first page where she let out a gasp. A map of the current Hyrule rested in the book and there were many, many little moving dots. They were _moving_! She placed her finger on one and the page began to swirl to her sheer amazement. It zoomed in and in on the little dot until a person - yes, a person! - came into view. And the person was moving just like the dots!

She paid no attention to the persons appearance except for noticing it was an older rancher and she flipped through the book. But… the book was hollow. Saria stared at it blankly for a moment, wondering if what she saw was real. In the hollowed out part rested a small chain with a round stone, about the size of a marble.

She lifted it to her face, rubbed it in her fingers, and looked at it closely. It was polished with no obvious or visible juts in the smooth surface. It was black colored with specks of white and silver, looking as if the night sky had poured itself into a small bead for any who held it to gape from a single glance of its undeniable beauty.

Saria flipped to the beginning of the book. Her hands shook with undeniable excitement. Slowly, her eyes scanned the page, now back to its original, full map view of Hyrule, not zoomed in. Saria touched one of the two dots that were in the Sacred Grove.

It zoomed in slowly, revealing trees and old, probably ancient, buildings standing in ruins around a moss covered clearing. In the center of the clearing was a symbol of the Triforce, and then before it were two stone statues with weapons held tightly in their arms. But it was not either of the two things that caught her attention, it was a small little man, a lantern in one hand, a horn in the other. He looked like a tree puppet almost, with his wooden build and the green, orange, red, and yellow leaves that served as clothes.

Skull kid…

Wasn't he? He sure looked like Skull Kid. Saria sighed and placed the stone onto the book before she slouched down in Rauru's desk chair lazily. Her eyes closed slowly but suddenly a shock of energy surged through her body, having her jump out of the chair, alert. Saria's eyes scanned the room cautiously. She blinked when she saw the room blurring and waving, like a heat wave one could see from afar. Her head began to throb feel lightheaded. Saria slumped to the ground, clutching her forehead in pain. Everything around her began to spin and she lost her balance. She fell to the ground with her eyes tightly closed, trying to block out the light that hurt her head so.

Eventually, the throbbing ceased and she no longer felt like she was spinning in endless circles. Saria struggled to push herself up from the ground. Her small hands gripped the ground, expecting to feel the rug in Rauru's library but instead she got a handful of grass and fell to the ground again. Was she caught? Probably… The only room where the Sages resided with grass was Saria's room, so Rauru or Impa or someone else must have caught her and put her back into her room. But why put her on the ground?

She took in a deep, shaky breath and pushed herself up with weak arms. Her eyes slowly opened and sunlight stung at them viciously. She put her arms in front of her eyes to shield them from the blinding light and she crossed her legs as she finally managed to sit up. She took in a second deep breath. Sweet scents drifted to her nose, like dew covered grass and blooming flowers. The wind carried a nearby forest scent and Saria almost sank back to the ground before her eyes snapped open suddenly.

The Chamber of Sages had no such scents.

She jumped up and looked around angrily.

"Finally you wake up," said a voice, masculine, from behind her.

Saria ignored it for a moment and looked around her. She was in the Sacred Grove… So that was how the portal worked. Place it on a spot on the map. She snapped back to attention then. "Hmm?"

"I said, 'Finally you wake up," the voice spoke again.

Saria twisted around to see who the voice belonged to. She blinked in disbelief before throwing her arms around the 'unknown' man. "Link~!" she sang happily.

Her green clad friend - no, the reincarnation of her original green clad friend - stood in front of her, dumbfounded on how Saria knew who he was. After all, she was just an unknown little girl dressed in green, like himself.

"Oh, Link, I missed you sooo much! It has been forever since I have seen you!" She tugged at his tunic and said, "Lets go play like we used to! C'mon!"

Link blinked and his expression narrowed as he pushed Saria away lightly. "Who… are _you_?"

_Teehee, I made a new chapter! So, guess what! I have decided to make this into a story, about what? Well, I don't know if I put it in the previous chapter's AN but if I didn't, then you'll just have to keep reading to find out. This story, unlike others of mine, I have actually come up with majority of the plot! So, review are love~_


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